What is BDC LIFT (AI Adoption Financing)?
BDC LIFT (AI Adoption Financing) is delivered by Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) as a loan. Funding is typically loans $25,000 to $5,000,000. This page covers eligibility, intake status, and what an application actually requires.
At a glance
| Funding amount | Loans $25,000 to $5,000,000 |
|---|---|
| Cost share | N/A (loan) |
| Level | Federal |
| Program type | Loan |
| Delivered by | Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) |
| Available in | All provinces |
| Intake status | Open - rolling |
| Last verified | 2026-10-05 |
Who qualifies
- Eligible industries: All sectors adopting AI or advanced productivity technology
- Eligible activities: AI adoption and digital transformation (customer-service tools, back-office automation, data infrastructure); productivity and advanced-equipment projects. At least one Canadian project component required.
Watch out for
Annual revenue under $1M (AI track) or under $5M (productivity track); no technology/digital plan; cash flow too weak to service the loan; no Canadian project component
Deadlines & how to apply
$500M program launched April 24, 2026; no deadline. Track 1, Digital transformation and AI: loans $25K to $2M, minimum $1M revenue, demonstrated profitability, mandatory BDC digital plan, capital payments can be postponed up to 12 months, amortization up to 6 years; most industries eligible. Track 2, Productivity and digitally enabled equipment: loans $350K to $5M, minimum $5M revenue, only manufacturing, transport and warehousing, wholesale, construction, agriculture/forestry/fishing, architectural and engineering services, and mining/oil and gas; productivity plan required; capital payments can be postponed up to 2 years, amortization up to 12 years. Must use qualified Canadian suppliers or integrators.
How NorthGrants helps with BDC LIFT (AI Adoption Financing)
Most business owners read about BDC LIFT (AI Adoption Financing), see the funding amount, and stop. The hard part isn't finding the grant. It's building a complete application that answers what the program asks for.
NorthGrants builds the full application framework for you: a tailored project narrative aligned to this program's evaluation criteria, a budget structure that maps to eligible costs, and the supporting documentation checklist. You review it, refine the parts only you can write, and submit.